'TAR' Edition: No More Mr. Nice Teams on this 'Race' as the High-Jinks Begin!

Well, it had to happen sometime. The teams on The Amazing Race couldn't stay nice forever, after all, this is a race and someone is going to win a million dollars! When there are only four teams left, it's even more possible that someone is your team, hence, the nastiness commences. And boy did it ever commence last night! Right out of the gate things began to heat up as Team Slacker and MoJo called themselves two taxis to take them to their first destination this leg - Swan Bells Tower 15 miles away. When the Hippies came along, neither team would tell them what they were waiting for. When the taxis showed up, both teams took off for the Bells Tower, and the Hippies went to call for their own taxi. Ray/Yolanda came along next and they found a taxi and made their way to the tower. When all four teams arrived, they learned that the tower didn't open until 8 a.m. (surprise, surprise). The Hippies took the opportunity to form a plan to break up the alliance between Team Slacker and MoJo by pointing out the flirting that seemed to be going on between MoJo's Monica and Slacker's Eric. The plan seemed to have little effect, however. All of the teams decided to use the spare time to call for taxis for the next morning, but the Slackers called and canceled the taxis for the Hippies and Ray/Yolanda. The next morning, all of the teams raced up to the top of the tower to get their next clue, and learned that they would need to fly 1700 miles to Darwin, Australia, find a marked car and then drive to Crocodylus Park where they would have to wade through croc-infested waters to get their next clue. MoJo zoomed down the stairs, but the Hippies had gotten ahead and climbed into MoJo's taxi. Joseph told the cab driver that he was Joseph and even pulled out his ID to prove it. The Hippies exited the taxi mad and MoJo drove off with a few choice words about the free-spirited team. Meanwhile, Ray called the taxi company and found out that someone had canceled his and the Hippies' taxis and he assumed it was MoJo since they were the only ones with one. Team Slacker's cab didn't show for some reason (a little something that Earl likes to call karma) and neither member of the team said anything about the fact that they were the ones who canceled the reservations. Ray's new taxi showed, and he and Yolanda headed for the airport. Soon, the other teams were on their way as well.


At the airport, MoJo tried to bribe the ticket agent with a kiss from Monica if he would agree to not share the same information with the other teams that he shared with them. The plan was inherently flawed, however, since the other teams went to different ticket agents and all four landed on the same flight. The teams did learn that it was Team Slacker who had canceled their taxis. Once the teams landed in Darwin, they found their marked cars and drove to Crocodylus Park, but they soon learned that it didn't open until 9 a.m. (yet another surprise). The Hippies continued their plan to turn MoJo and Team Slacker against each other, but it once again failed. The next morning, all four teams entered the park and put on waders and rubber gloves while they were given instructions on how to behave around the crocs. All four teams began entering their respective croc pools to retrieve one of the hanging clues all the while the crocs were snapping and spinning around them. Now, I know these crocs are used to people and are fed regularly and blah, blah, blah, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be too excited entering into their pool wearing only waders and some dish washing gloves! I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure the rubber gloves aren't going to stop the extra sharp teeth and steel jaws of a croc. Surprisingly, though, none of the teams seemed very scared. So, Monica gets upset and pout- y over missing a train, but doesn't shed a tear when a croc snaps its jaws right in front of her? Amazing! Each team completed the task and opened their clue to find that they needed to drive 50 miles to Batchelor and find the airfield to receive their next clue, but wait! The clue warned that there was a Yield ahead! Uh-oh! We all know that the Hippies have been itching to yield MoJo since the last leg, and all four teams were neck and neck. It was going to be a tight race to the Yield mat and the longest 50 miles of both the Hippies' and MoJo's lives!


The Hippies managed to edge MoJo by mere tenths of a second, and as expected they yielded the dating couple. Now, you know Monica and her penchant for frustration and how that leads to crocodile tears (yes, I said it), so you can only imagine what happened as each of the other teams arrived and opened their clue to learn that this Roadblock required one team member to sky dive. As usual, Mo took her anger out on Jo and he got annoyed, which made her even madder and so on and so forth. Seriously, it was like the Longest. Yield. Ever! Meanwhile, the other teams were enjoying the friendly skies as a member from each team took their turn with the tandem jump. The Hippies were up first and after completing the task, they opened their clue to learn that they would need to travel 20 miles to Litchfield National Park and find the magnetic termite mounds. Finally, MoJo's Yield ran out, and Monica suited up to complete the jump while the other three teams made their way to the park. Monica completed the jump, and they too made their way to Litchfield National Park.


At the National Park, the Hippies easily found the termite mounds and their next clue, which was the Detour for this leg of the race: Wet or Dry. In Wet, teams had to complete a one mile trek down a river complete with large spiders and poisonous plants. In Dry, teams had to drive 6 miles off road to a rock formation known as the Lost City, pick up one of the didgereedoos, find the Aborigine playing the didgereedoo with the same picture painted on it and them play a note on the instrument. The Hippies chose Wet because they reasoned that they could walk a mile faster than teams could drive six. Famous last words! You can go ahead and add this phrase to the other banned TAR phrases because it will get you in just as much trouble as all of the others (for a complete list, see Monica of MoJo fame). Yolanda/Ray found the termite mounds next, and chose dry. Team Slacker chose Wet (any excuse to wear the Speedo). MoJo, who had stopped at the park office to get directions and a map, finally reached the mounds and chose dry. Meanwhile, Ray/Yolanda quickly completed Dry and learned that they would need to travel to Lake Bennett - the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. Meanwhile Team Slacker and the Hippies struggled through Wet. Both teams soon realized that the river was loaded with spider webs with huge spiders, which seemed to freak both teams out a bit. Again, no freaking out at the steel jawed crocs, but the spiders minding their own gets everyone upset? I would have been the same way, which is exactly why I would have chosen Dry, although I'm not sure if the clue mentioned the spiders and the plants. I also would have chosen Dry because it was much faster as we soon witnessed when MoJo breezed through it. Finally, Team Slacker and the Hippies finished Wet and began driving toward Lake Bennett. Meanwhile, Ray/Yolanda found the lake and Phil (without getting lost!), and for the first time this Race, landed in first place. As exciting as that sounds (and believe me, it was), there was something even more exciting waiting for them at the Pit Stop. A man with 2, not 1, but 2 whips that he really enjoyed cracking every time he was cued. This meant that Phil had to keep his distance, and he even gave a shocked face the first time. And I think, but don't quote me, that he even raised both eyebrows! It was a Phil first!

Anyway, the rest of the teams all met up on the road because Team Slacker stopped and asked for directions, and the Hippies stopped with them. This is when one of the most exciting, if not THE most exciting, endings ever took place. All three teams were behind each other in a line as they turned into Lake Bennett. All three sprang out of their SUVs and it was a HUGE mad dash to the finish line. We're talking pushing, shoving, falling and anything else that gave them an edge. In the end, all three teams arrived within milliseconds of each other, but the Hippies were in last place. Since this was a non-elimination round, they once again lost all of their possessions and money. Unfortunately for BJ, this meant shoes as well since he had managed to lose his during the sprint to the mat. What did you think about last night's thrilling edition? Were you glued to your seat despite the fact that this was obviously a non-elimination round? How are you liking the mean side of the teams? Drop with a comment with your thoughts.

All of the pictures in this edition are from cbs.com. The site has a lot more pictures and info if you just can't get enough of TAR. Be sure to tune in later today for the regular edition of Pass the Remote jam-packed with thoughts on Lost's shocking return. Plus, the Idol and Model moments and all the latest television news!

To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



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